House of Blue Fire

"The age of man is over."

Writer: Mark Morris

Format: Audio

Released: August 2011

Series: Monthly Adventures 152

Featuring: Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

aquaphobia n. An abnormal fear of water, or drowning.

blattodephobia n. The morbid fear of cockroaches. 

cataptrophobia n. Fear of mirrors, or seeing one's own reflection.

There's a whole ABC of horrors at Bluefire House – as four young people, drawn together to this tumbledown hotel at the edge of nowhere, are about to discover. But whatever the ancient and foul thing that has emerged from the wilderness to drag them here, speaking of it will only strengthen it.

The Doctor alone knows what lurks at the heart of Bluefire House. But the monster of his childhood dreams is coming. The Mi'en Kalarash is coming...

Just this once, the Doctor is afraid.

Verdict

House of Blue Fire was an excellent audio to continue my way through the Monthly Adventures! I've really enjoyed the trilogy of solo adventures for the Seventh Doctor going back to Robophobia and The Doomsday Quatrain and I was a little surprised that he didn't feature right up until the cliffhanger of the first part. Sally and Rachel as No.18 and No.5 respectively more than carried that opening episode and I really did come to like them as a pairing. They were suffering from the effects of a mind wipe which was brilliant and placed them in a very tricky predicament. Sally was inquisitive from the start and I took a real liking to her character as she deduced that she could remember the society, but not her place within it. That was a terrific concept and must be very frightening to not know who you are or where you fitted. That theme played out well in the Bluefire House setting which I thought was tremendous. It sounded very cool and the result was not a disappointment. I loved the idea of each member of the house having a specific fear and the way they varied from cockroaches to mirrors was really good. The Doctor being there was always going to come, especially when Sally and Rachel had spotted him from afar briefly! I thought he was actually going to end up being the master of the house, but his reaction to them mentioning 'the master' was glorious! He suspected his old enemy was back for more shenanigans. Alas, that was not to be but he was not missed! I thought the cliffhanger to part two was definitely the best and really extended the life of the adventure as we found that the Doctor was actually in a facility and had hooked himself up to the Blue Fire system. I did not see that coming so that was something I particularly enjoyed. The fact he'd created the House of Blue Fire from his own mind was great and his comments later about the Mi'en Kalarash needing rope rather than thread as an analogy for the strength of his mind was amusing. The concept of the Mi'en Kalarash was fantastic and I liked its position as an Elder God, something that the Doctor was even potentially afraid of. Exploring the Doctor's fears is always intriguing and I'm glad this one stayed away from the more cliche threats of the Daleks or Cybermen. The Doctor suggesting that he was scared of the Old Times returning was magnificent and would be a fun direction to take his audio adventures moving forward. Dr Soames was a good character as the host of the house to start with and his role expanded nicely before his death which was pretty gruesome. The idea of your physical body also dying if the mind body died was strong and eliminated any suggestion of safety in a different realm. The Mi'en Kalarash being linked to Pritchard from when she was a youngster and hit by a car was fascinating, and with her temporarily in between life and death it pounced on her as it was something that could inhabit the gap between realities. I thought that was very strong. The feeding on emotion and it being strengthened just from being spoken about was great stuff. The Doctor was on hand to rid it from this dimension though after being the one to actually bring it through, and his desire for escape even when it seemed impossible was a nice touch and a terrific trait! The continuation of the TARDIS being black is a little strange as I wonder what the endgame there is, but having Sally seemingly join on board will be a nice refresh for the Seventh Doctor for sure! Overall, an excellent audio. 

Rating: 9/10